Brandon Cleveland

A bank executive with over a decade of successful performance in development, finance & banking, administration, and fundraising. He serves on the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Small Business Council and is a past recipient of the Civic Leadership Award from the Jefferson County Democrat Millennials. He is a past recipient of the Birmingham Business Journal’s “Rising Stars in Money” award. A practitioner in community-inclusive development and a champion for equity & access in marginalized communities. Most recently he spearheaded a community project that led to a community grocery store being installed in Daniel Payne Community Plaza, the 1st of its kind in Alabama. He is known as a captivating and dynamic speaker.

In 2018 he launched Waterside Global, a ministry focused on serving men & boys of color to live a more purposeful life through the teachings of the Word of God. Presently, he serves as the Executive Director of the Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation, Inc., as Board President of Birmingham Impact Loan Fund, an emerging CDFI, as Board Director of the Jefferson County Economic & Industrial Development Authority (JCEIDA), and as Business & Community Liaison for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

He received his bachelor’s from the University of Montevallo in Business Administration and is a recent honoree of the University’s 2023 alumni award. He holds certifications from the New York Institute of Finance and currently attends the University of Pennsylvania Wharton’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He is married and lives locally here in Birmingham, AL.